PDX employee steals firearms from checked baggage

[kd7nqb]

Here is an article on a local news site, makes you think about checking firearms. I love how the person they interview acts far more outraged that people can check firearms in luggage.



http://www.katu.com/news/15939512.html

PORTLAND, Ore. - A baggage handler at the Portland International Airport has been accused of stealing two firearms from checked bags.

A grand jury indicted Charles Dean Miller III for taking a rifle and a pistol from a secure area that he had access to.

Police said Miller made a crucial mistake that gave him away.

Investigators said when he broke into one of the gun cases, Miller accidentally dropped his car keys inside. Police later traced the keys to him.

Passengers at PDX were surprised by the theft but also by the possible breach of security.

"I'm surprised it even got through," Ryan Christensen of Bellingham, Wash. said. "I didn't know people could check a gun through baggage. Can they put a gun in their normal baggage?"

Airport officials say you can legally check a gun through in your baggage but there are many rules to follow including locking the unloaded weapon in a solid-sided container.

An investigation and security review is under way.

 

[SASS#23149]

Are they putting the 'steal me' tags on the outside of the bags again??
They were at 1st,then someone wised up as to that is how thieves KNOW where the guns are to be able to steal them.
Later they wisely moved the tags to the inside of the luggage.

I got seperated from a fire arm on a plane-change years ago,but was 'assured' the long gun would be in a locked secured area at baggage claime.
did they mean the glass-fronted display case with NO LOCK on it that I finally found??? !!
Luckily my rifle WAS on the same plane I was after all. whew. I had just bought it,and it was my 1st over 600.00 gun. YIKES,what a scare.

the whole baggage 'security' system is a scary thing.

 

[El Tejon]

Bah, that's nothing. TSA stole knives and ammo from right in front of me.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=209034&highlight=check+range+bag

 

[bloodedsky]

...Well, at least the employee seemed to be okay with the whole "right to bear arms" idea...

Sorry. I couldn't resist.

 

[biscuitninja]

Don't get me started when I carry My .50 BMG. These bozos coulden't protect a cheeseburger....

ALWAYS know what you carry and always keep tabs. From then on I send my stuff via UPS or some other shipper. That way, I at least get insurance once they "lose" it....
-bix

 

[Sage of Seattle]

"I'm surprised it even got through," Ryan Christensen of Bellingham, Wash. said. "I didn't know people could check a gun through baggage. Can they put a gun in their normal baggage?"

This is really the best quote they could come up with?

Anyway, I honestly don't trust any of the TSA or baggage search agents, even though I still fly occasionally -- ever since I flew from Norfolk and I had an expensive bottle of 10 Cane rum for my birthday in my luggage. An agent opened my suitcase, cut the seal, took a pull off the top and carefully put the cork back in, aligning the now cut seal so at first glance it wouldn't be noticed, and then placed it back into my suitcase.

Not a firearm, but a feeling of being violated nonetheless.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Investigators said when he broke into one of the gun cases, Miller accidentally dropped his car keys inside. Police later traced the keys to him.

Or did he use his keys to "break into" the case? I feel way less secure at airports with the TSA crowd (see avenger29's post) than before.

 

[Run&Shoot]

I wonder what airline? All of the TSA folks I have dealt with at PDX have been professional and friendly. One gave me advice on how to speed up the xray process (disassemble to make obvious it is not loaded), and another suggested improvements to my locks.

Now the regular behind the scenes baggage handler I can totally believe. I have not seen them attach a firearm tag to any of my bags for the last couple of years. It could be the look of the bag perhaps that the firearms are in. I carry pistols in a small locked case in my normal luggage with a TSA lock on the luggage. Rifles are in hard Pelican cases that have 2-4 heavy locks on them. THe Pelicans are bulky and heavy enough that they won;t be easy to sneak out the back.

 

[BlazingAngel01]

I would Lock the Gun(2 locks) duck tape my case to you cant even see it anymore, with 3 role's or more and not say a word.

 

[HuntAndFish]

TSA = Thousands Standing Around.

Yeah, bad news. Thank goodness for dumb crooks. And Ryan Christensen of Bellingham, Wash. needs to get out of the house more often.

 

[jakemccoy]

The gun ignorance is out of hand (referring to passenger interviewed). Firearm education needs to mandatory in K-12. In what state could I run on that platform and get elected to Congress?

 

[Cacique500]

Last time I flew through PDX (in December) I took my bags to the TSA after checking in at the counter. I handed him my first bag and told him my firearms were in my second bag.

He puts the first bag on the xray and it goes through. I hand him my second bag and tell him that's the one with the firearms in it. He takes out a sharpie and makes some kind of mark on my bag tag. I asked him what he was doing and he said it was to show that I had declared that bag had a firearm in it. WRONG ANSWER. I demanded a supervisor immediately and insisted that they get a new tag for the bag with no markings on it. Supervisor told me they couldn't get another tag and I read him the riot act on marking a bag in any manner that had a firearm in it.

If you fly anywhere and they try to mark the bag, don't let 'em do it.

 

[jakemccoy]

Cacique500 wrote,

Last time I flew through PDX (in December) I took my bags to the TSA after checking in at the counter. I handed him my first bag and told him my firearms were in my second bag.

He puts the first bag on the xray and it goes through. I hand him my second bag and tell him that's the one with the firearms in it. He takes out a sharpie and makes some kind of mark on my bag tag. I asked him what he was doing and he said it was to show that I had declared that bag had a firearm in it. WRONG ANSWER. I demanded a supervisor immediately and insisted that they get a new tag for the bag with no markings on it. Supervisor told me they couldn't get another tag and I read him the riot act on marking a bag in any manner that had a firearm in it.

If you fly anywhere and they try to mark the bag, don't let 'em do it.

Good advice, do you have a law I can memorize or keep in my wallet for when I fly?

I've never flown with a firearm. So, I haven't taken the time to research my rights there.

 

[romma]

I am not going to worry about it. I carry a keltec for Interstate. Not terribly expensive, and The feds are all over it when firearms go missing from luggage.

Plus insurance helps!

 

[sonyhoppes]

Yup, that's what I've heard, too. The absolute best way to ensure your bag doesn't get lost is to check a firearm in it. The LAST thing the airline wants is to have the feds get involved.